Love is a doing word
by PrehistoricCat
Summary: The contents of a box belonging to Connor gives Matt something to think about. Set initially between series 3 and 4, and then after the end of series 5. Warning for mentions of canon characters deaths


**A/N: A few weeks ago, Andrew Lee Potts began selling some of his Primeval memorabilia on ebay, mostly clothing that was part of his costume for Connor, but one object was the compass he used in series 1. It came as a surprise to fans to see that there was an engraving on it, something never mentioned in the series but perhaps something that had been intended to be part of it and written out. That engraving inspired this ficlet. I hope you enjoy.**

**Warnings: Mentions of deaths of canon characters**

**Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and no copyright is intended**

* * *

Jess frowned and decided it was time she went over and said something to him. Matt Anderson had been at the ARC less than a week, but his presence was already ruffling feathers, especially Becker's.

She'd been watching him for the last half an hour, trying to work out what he was doing with the box of items belonging to Connor Temple. It had been in storage with the rest of his things, along with Abby and Danny's things. From what Jess could remember, this particular box contained the things that Connor had left behind at Lester's apartment. Matt was taking each item out of the box and writing something down on a piece of paper before placing it back inside. It was odd to say the least, and Jess was determined to get some answers.

"Would you like a coffee?" she asked, moving towards his workspace and straining to see what he was writing.

"No, thank you, Jess."

She stood and waited until he looked up and raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Is that Connor's box?" she asked.

"Yes."

Jess sniffed. Becker was right when he said that Matt was not one for conversation. "I think your decision to ignore the official government statement about Connor, Abby and Danny was the right one. We shouldn't give up on them."

"People have been known to survive for many years in extreme conditions. Until there's concrete evidence to the contrary, I believe they are still alive, somewhere."

Jess smiled, and glanced down at Matt's right hand. He had lingered on a small object that he had taken out of the box and was running his fingers over it. A small chain with a T bar on the end slipped between his fingers.

"Oh, my grandfather had one of those!" she gushed. Matt looked at her and opened his hand to reveal a small brass circular object.

"What is it?"

"A pocket watch. He swore it kept perfect time as long as he remembered to wind it every morning." She leaned over to get a closer look at it. "Except that doesn't look like it has a winder on it, and it looks too thin to be a watch."

"From what I've read about Connor Temple, a pocket watch doesn't sound like the kind of thing he would have." Matt said.

"Perhaps it belonged to his grandfather?"

"Perhaps." Matt examined it closer, noticing for the first time that the outer case was engraved. _Love is a doing word. _"Curious. Someone was a bit of a romantic."

"Definitely not Connor's then," Jess sniffed.

"Oh? What makes you say that? You didn't know him."

"Only from what Captain Becker said. What are you doing with Connor's things anyway?"

Matt sighed, twirling the object around in his hand. "I was just trying to get an idea of what sort of person he is. I've spoken to Becker and read his personal files of course, but they only tell part of the story." The brass casing came open, and for a moment Matt thought he'd broken it, but then he realised it was hinged and was supposed to open. "Interesting," he said quietly to himself, though Jess saw it as a cue to move closer still and look again.

"A compass?" Matt said, holding it up for Jess.

Jess's mouth dropped open and then she began to practically bounce on the spot. "Matt! Do you realise what you have there?" He shook his head and looked slightly bemused. Jess put her hand on her hip and took on an air of importance, pleased she knew something that the new guy didn't. "When Connor and Professor Cutter first started investigating anomalies, Connor discovered that they had magnetic fields and he began to carry a compass around with him as a crude detector before he developed the hand held devices that the field team used."

"You've clearly done your research, Jess. I'm impressed."

"It's my job to know things," she sniffed. "You should probably study Connor's field notes from the early days before the ARC moved from the Home Office building into their own purpose built offices."

"I will. So, this compass is what lead Connor to develop the ARCs technology?"

"Yes. Becker says that Connor always gives the impression that he's a bit of a bumbling idiot, but beneath that exterior is an extremely clever man. If anyone is going to work out how anomalies work, it'll be Connor."

Matt felt something in the pit of his stomach. He'd been sent here to find a person that was capable of interfering with the anomalies, capable of causing a huge catastrophic event that would wipe out practically all signs of life on the Earth. His father had warned him that that person could be anyone and he should be prepared for any eventuality. They had suspected for some time that it was someone connected to the ARC. Connor fitted the bill perfectly, but he was stranded somewhere in the ancient past. He couldn't possibly be the one he was looking for.

Matt closed the compass case and shook himself out of his thoughts. As he was about to put it back into the box, he noticed a second engraving on the reverse side of the casing. _Dear Abby, I love you always, Connor._

"Jess? What did your research tell you about Connor's relationship with Abby Maitland?"

"I wouldn't call it a relationship as such. They were good friends, even shared a flat until Abby's brother turned up."

"So they weren't romantically linked?"

"Becker says Connor had a thing for Abby, but it was one sided. Why do you ask?" Matt gave her the compass and showed her the engraving. For some reason, Jess felt a tear forming in her eye, which she blinked away quickly. "Perhaps Connor is a romantic after all. I wonder when he was planning to give it to her?"

Matt sniffed. "Maybe he should have actually taken note of the quote on the other side. Taken action instead of sitting around admiring her from afar."

"Do you have a girlfriend, Matt?"

"Actually, Jess. I think I might have that coffee after all." He turned away, hoping Jess would take the hint that this conversation was over. He didn't dare look up again until he'd heard the click click of her stiletto heels fade away. Shaking his head, he carefully placed the compass back into the box and stared at the list he had written before picking up the piece of paper and screwing it into a ball and throwing into the waste bin. Making a few casual observations about a few inanimate objects was not going to help him find the person he was looking for. He'd just learnt more about Connor Temple in a five minute conversation with Jess than he had in hours of just looking. It was time to change tactics.

Carrying the box back to where it had been stored alongside all of Abby's stuff, he wondered if he would ever meet either of them, or Danny Quinn. Only time would tell.

##

It was almost two years to the day that Matt had been sat in this exact same spot, looking at the same box. So much had happened since the last time he'd seen the contents, yet it almost felt like yesterday. He wondered if Connor had even opened it after he'd returned from being stranded in the Cretaceous era. It still seemed to have the tape on that he'd put on after he'd gone through it.

Of course, today's task was a very different one to the one he'd carried out back then, and considerably harder. He remembered the conversation he'd had with Jess that day, and how she'd commended him on reopening the case of Connor, Abby and Danny's disappearance. He'd explained his reasoning as there being no concrete evidence that they weren't alive. This time, there was no doubt. He'd been there. He'd heard their final moments clearly through his earpiece and had been completely helpless. The only comfort being that Connor and Abby had died together.

The ARC had been somewhat subdued for the last month. Lester had taken charge of the funeral arrangements but left the clearing out of their belongings from the flat to the team. Matt was trying to make some decisions about what could be sent out to the local charity shop and what should be kept because of a connection to the ARC. Jess had taken charge of all of Connor's computer equipment to make sure all of his research, official and unofficial, was retrieved, transferred to the ARCs computers and then properly erased.

The contents of the box were pretty much as he recalled; a few books, a games console and some games, a jacket and, bizarrely, a tennis ball. Matt decided to label the box for the charity collection when he spotted something at the very bottom of the box that made him smile and then frown. Connor's compass.

He ran his thumb over the metal casing, thinking about the engraving on it that he'd thought so strange before. Now that he knew Connor and the nature of his relationship with Abby prior to their disappearance and afterwards it made perfect sense.

"I wonder why he never gave it to her?" Jess asked, placing a cup of coffee next to Matt and sitting herself down to join him.

"He probably forgot it was in here," Matt responded. "When they came back, they hit the ground running and didn't stop. Then Connor got caught up with Philip Burton and New Dawn, so I expect everything to do with his life before all of that was forgotten."

"So sad." Jess sniffed and blinked rapidly, trying not to cry. Matt wasn't sure if he should put his arm around her to comfort her or not. She'd been crying a lot since Abby and Connor had died, the only one of the team that had openly showed any grief. Perhaps he should take a leaf out of her book? Bottling up emotions would only lead to destruction, but letting go in public was something he didn't do.

"I wish I'd remembered it was here," he finally said. "I could've at least made sure Abby was buried with it."

"Maybe Connor intended for it to stay here in the ARC? It should be here, given its history."

Matt nodded. This tiny compass formed the basis of all the theories and all the technology that they all took for granted in their day to day job now. It belonged to the ARC, and he would make sure it was kept safely and given pride of place. A permanent reminder of Connor and his contribution.

"At least Connor did finally live up to the quote on the casing," Jess said, sitting up and pulling herself together again. "I recall you were unkind about him when you read it."

"I wasn't unkind. I just thought it was an unusual saying to have engraved on such an object when he didn't act on the wording."

"You're not so hot on the 'doing' thing either, Matt. You didn't do anything about the way you felt about Emily and you let her get away."

Matt closed his eyes. Emily. It had been almost six months since she'd left to try and start a new life for herself. He hadn't tried to stop her, but regretted it every day since. "Guilty," he sighed, opening his eyes and staring at the inscription, _Love is a doing word_ "But there's nothing I can do about it now."

"Yes there is," Jess said quietly, pulling a piece of paper out of her handbag and passing it to Matt. He looked at it questioningly. "Emily and I have been writing to each other since she left. She prefers writing, she still can't quite get her head around all of the technology."

Matt should have known. He'd realised that Jess and Emily were friends, but it had never crossed his mind that they would have kept in touch. "Is she... is she okay?"

Jess nodded. "She's settled in a small village in Warwickshire, it would only take a couple of hours to drive there. The address is on the letter."

Matt swallowed nervously and felt his heart pounding hard in his chest. _Love is a doing word_. "She probably wouldn't want to see me now, not after all this time."

"She's mentioned you a couple of times in her letters. I think she hoped you'd come after her. It's not too late, Matt." Jess stroked his hand. "Let something positive come out of losing Connor and Abby. Wake up and follow the advice on the compass."

It all suddenly seemed so clear. Matt stood up and slipped the compass into his back pocket before leaning down to kiss Jess on her cheek, making her blush. "You're right, Jess. I should at least try, eh?"

Jess's smile spread across the entire width of her face. "I'll tell Lester that you're taking a couple of days off shall I?"

Matt nodded, grabbed his jacket and strode purposefully across the room towards the corridor that would take him out of the ARC and onwards. For the first time in his life, Matt was doing something for himself, and it felt right.


End file.
